Everyone seems to wish for a candidate who could "reach across the aisle" --- someone who could compromise with the opposing party in order to get things done. Politicians used to be better at this but seem to have forgotten how it's done. Bush ran as a "uniter, not a divider," but his idea of "reaching across the aisle" seems to be, "Here's what I'm gonna do. I invite you to vote for it, even if you are opposed to it. And, no, I'm not gonna compromise." That's not really "reaching across the aisle."

"Reaching across the aisle" means real compromise. It means listening to the other side and trying to understand where they are coming from. It means giving the other side something they want in order to come to an agreement that will be good for the country. It means GETTING THINGS DONE through compromise, instead of blocking every move by the other party, and never-ending gridlock.

Could you "reach across the aisle?"

There are a few things in government I'd like to see dealt with, and I think I could "reach across the aisle" to get something done on them.

For example:

I'd like to see Social Security solvent for more years than currently projected. Right now the money is expected to run out arond 2040. We either need to bring in more money, or cut the benefits, or both. Democrats generally favor raising more money, and Republicans generally favor cutting the benefits. I'd like to see more money come in by raising the cutoff for the Social Security payroll tax. Right now it cuts off at something like $92,000 per year --- if you make more than that, they stop deducting more Social Security payroll taxes after you reach a salary of $92,000. I'd try to raise more money by raising the limit to $250,000 or more. And I'd "reach across the aisle" by offering to limit the cost of benefits by either raising the retirement age a year or two, or by pegging the cost-of-living increases to a different index so that they would not rise so fast. This kind of compromise could prevent the program from going completely bankrupt while also adressing concerns about the runaway cost.

I think I could also "reach across the aisle" and reach compromises and get things done on other issues, such as environmental issues, global climate change, cost of healthcare, fair/free trade, and many others.

Could you "reach across the aisle?" What do you care about? And what would you offer the opposition to get something done?
dragonrider Reviewed by dragonrider on . Could you "reach across the aisle?" Everyone seems to wish for a candidate who could "reach across the aisle" --- someone who could compromise with the opposing party in order to get things done. Politicians used to be better at this but seem to have forgotten how it's done. Bush ran as a "uniter, not a divider," but his idea of "reaching across the aisle" seems to be, "Here's what I'm gonna do. I invite you to vote for it, even if you are opposed to it. And, no, I'm not gonna compromise." That's not really "reaching across the Rating: 5